1. Get access to your bills

All too often, utility bills are sent directly to an organization's accounting department, paid, filed away, and then never seen again. Unfortunately, this process means that the valuable utility information they contain goes unused. In 2014, fix this disconnect-- make sure you receieve copies of these bills, set up online accounts with your providers so you can access them directly, or better yet, sign up for a utility tracking service that will automatically import data from all your utility providers at once and bring them into a central location. Whichever option you choose, you'll be rewarded with better information about your properties, necessary for detecting leaks and evaluating performance.

2. Take on tenant education

2014 is a great year to improve your tenant education programs. Try putting up flyers describing the benefits of green habits such as turning off lights and lowering thermostats, as well information about any efforts your organization is making to improve the building. Hold information meetings about green living (get some ideas from SHNNY here) and reward tenants that recycle with giftcards. Whether your organization covers utility costs or not, your efforts will produce happier, more comfortable tenants.

3. Find your worst performing building and do something about it

Calculate the heating intensity of the buildings in your portfolio. You can do this work manually (instructions here) or use an automated benchmarking service. Once you've ranked your properties, pick out the worst performing buildng and schedule an audit. The results from this audit will clarify your next steps in terms or reducing your consumption.